Flick Pick

Like Hancock, the Will Smith flick from last year, 2007s Big Man Japan tweaks the superhero myth by focusing on a shaggy, thoroughly unconventional guardian of society  one who has more critics than fans. But whereas the former falls to earth thanks to a plot loaded with psychodrama and pretense that quickly causes the fun to curdle, director/star Hitoshi Matsumoto slowly but steadily ratchets up the weirdness with deadpan wit and special effects that merge the sensibilities of Godzilla and Monty Python. The film starts slowly, with Matsumoto, as the low-key lump who swells into a Kid n Play-coiffed giant when a power plants worth of electricity is fired into his nipples, talking to the off-screen maker of a documentary about his marital problems and dissatisfaction with the amount he gets paid for regularly saving humanity. But with the arrival of the Strangling Monster, a creature capable of destroying skyscrapers despite its lightbulb head and terrible comb-over, the story is transformed into a surrealistic satire that glories in its own strangeness. Better luck next time, Will.

Big Man Japan screens at midnight Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13, at the Esquire Theatre, 590 Downing Street; tickets are $7.25. Get details at www.landmarktheatres.com or 303-352-1992.
Fri., June 12; Sat., June 13, 2009

Get the Events Newsletter

What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.